Mathura Live: Never promised achche din for nation's looters, says PM Modi

‘Six crore ordinary people employ 12 crore people’

“If India has to fight poverty, the youth of the nation must get employment opportunities, Modi said, adding that there was a need to boost skill development opportunities across the nation.

The Prime Minister further said it wasn’t big corporates that generate a lot of employment but the small traders and businessmen who provide the maximum employment. “There are small traders who sell vegetables, milk, newspapers, have small industries, they employ 12 crore people of nation,” he said.

Modi highlights Atal pension yojana scheme, says it lacked technology 

“There were so many people who never got pension. Ours is a government dedicated to the poor and we decided to give adequate pension to the poor. Earlier, a 90-year-old person was expected to go to the office to prove he is alive. Now with technology we are trying to cut down on it. Times have changed and we must move ahead,” the PM said.

He also added that it was important to create a sense of social security within people. At the age of 60, a person will start recieving pension. After his death, his wife will be entitled to it. And after her death, the children will have access to the corpus.

Modi cuts down on his famous Q&As 

Modi is going slow on his trademark pauses during speeches that allowed him to interact with the audience. Earlier, he used to throw questions at the audience and wait for them to roar back answers. Today his speech is more of a rapid-fire monologue with no scope for the famous Modi Q&A. Earlier, the audience used to participate in his rallies, today it is just listening. – Sandipan Sharma

Farmer crisis okay, but Modi says nothing on land bill

While the Prime Minister did highlight the crisis farmers continue to face, he stopped short – as of now – of clearing his government’s stand on the land bill pending in Parliament.

The Opposition as well as his own NDA allies have unitedly attacked the Modi government for not keeping in mind the interest of farmers while proposing amendments to the land acquisition act that was passed by the previous UPA government.

The BJP government had to promulgate an ordinance on the land bill thrice as the Opposition refused to let the government initiate a discussion on the bill in Parliament.

While he did hold a Mann ki baat on the land bill, the Prime Minister is yet to explain his government’s stand on the bill.

Why shouldn’t farmers have 24 hours power supply?

Beginning to list out various schemes, Modi said: “The farmer must get a good life…so many farmers committed suicide for years. It’s not about who is to blame but its about solutions.” Modi highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Seechayee Yojana will help farmers have better access to irrigation, reiterating his mantra of ‘per drop, more crop’. Modi also said that farmers will get access to better fertilizers and questioned why farmers could not have 24 hour power supply to help better their crop output.

Modi takes credit for UPA’s DBT scheme

Highlighting that it was his government that ensured over 12 crore LPG cylinder users had subsidy amounts credit to their bank account, Modi sought to link the scheme to the Jan Dhan Yojana – or financial inclusion scheme. While there’s no doubt that his government has popularised the scheme, it was started way back in 2005 by the RBI, where citizens were urged to open basic bank accounts.

Coal scam, 2G scam, nepotism: Modi takes on UPA

Modi chose to slam the previous UPA government in the beginning of his speech highlighting how his government has ensured that coal and 2G were auctioned and that the money reached the state coffers.

“These were the people who ruled for 60 years. These power circles are history now, there is no place for such people. Last year issue was coal scams this year it is about auctions and money that has been raised for the state coffers. Coal mines were given to a select few…. keep looting… this was what was followed.”

Mathura, Krishna, and Pt. Upadhyaya

Modi says Mathura is synonymous with Lord Krishna and Deendayal Upadhyaya. He says Krishna emphasized on karma and Panditji also believed in the principle of charaiveti, charaiveti—a Sanskrit shloka that implores a person to keep marching on.

“Charanbai madhu vindati charantsvadu mudambaram.

Suryasya pasya sreemanam yo na tandrayate charan.

Charaiveti, charaiveti.”

Flashback 2014: Modi claims ‘bure din’ have gone

“Remember, if you hadn’t made the right choice, where this nation would be now?” Modi began his political speech, slamming the previous UPA government and claiming that he maintained his promise of providing acche din to the people and putting an end to corruption.

Modi also played back to his pre-election rallies, asking voters questions and hoping for a haan ya na answer.

“Would there have been a change in this country if we weren’t voted to power? Was there a remote control government or not? Wasn’t there a daily scam popping up everyday or not? Weren’t government officers scared of going to jail? Was there no scam in specturm and coal?”

Remembering the Jan Sangh ideologue Pt Upadhyay

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his speech highlighting the ideology of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. “Shri Krishna ji ka sandesh tha ‘Karma karte raho’, Pt. Deendayal ji ka sandesh tha ’na thako, na jhuko, na ruko, chalte hi raho’, Modi said. “There is Shree Krishna in every part of this land. Shree Krishna’s message was one- that of Karma Yoga.”

Upadhyay was born in Chandrabhan, now called Deendayal Dham, about 25km from Mathura.

Mathura also celebrates Hema Malini’s ‘Mathura Wapsi’

The festive spirit has inspired Hema Malini to do a Mathura Wapsi. People of Mathura are seeing their MP after a long gap. Her last public appearance was during the Swacch Bharat campaign. After holding a broom, posing for a photograph in Vrindavan, she had disappeared, voters had been complaining. Now that she is back after almost a year, her voters are celebrating a different kind of anniversary.

The Deols, incidentally, are notorious for disappearing from their constituencies. Hema’s husband Dharmendra had vanished from Bikaner after winning the Lok Sabha election in 2003. Some things run in the family, writes our senior editor Sandipan Sharma.

Told Amit Shah we must have rally in Mathura: Modi

Speaking at the Deen Dayal Dham for the Smarak of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in Mathura, Modi said it was he who told BJP chief Amit Shah to hold the rally at Mathura.

“Usually when such events happen, it takes place at a big city. So I told BJP president why not celebrate the one year in Upadhyay’s village. A person who has shaped and initiated a political ideology for the nation… Why not celebrate it here? Keeping that in mind we decided to have it here,” Modi said.

“This is a good place to learn the way Panditji led his life, how lives of poorest of the poor can be changed,” he added, saying, “If anybody wants to know more about rural development, environment, how to empower women, focus on education, they should come here.”

It is my privilege that I am able to come to this pure place and offer my tributes: PM @narendramodi

— narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) May 25, 2015

Thanks to Modi, Mathura village gets makeover

The last time it happened was 10 years ago – when the Prime Minister AB Vajpayee visited Mathura’s Nagla Chandrabhan, a relatively unknown village 160-km from the national capital, which is the birthplace of Jan Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

Ahead of Modi’s rally today, the administration has worked at a pace few have seen before. The streets have been swept clean, there are over 3000 policemen   guarding the venue and spread out across the village and, NDTV reports, walls of the village have been freshly painted, and flags with the “Om” sign are seen across the village.

RSS and BJP volunteers have also put up posters across the village highlighting the schemes implemented by the NDA government as well as those in the pipeline.

The BJP is also planning on releasing a booklet at the venue highlighting the government’s achievements.

Why the BJP chose Mathura to hold Modi’s rally

To ensure that the Mathura grounds are brimming with people, the BJP has enrolled at least 6,000 party volunteers to gather people. The party has also asked its cultural organisation – the RSS – to help them in ensuring that the Prime Minister’s rally is a massive success. 

Moreover, according to an Indian Express report, the party finalised Nagla Chandrabhan, Mathura as the venue as it’s the birth place of Deendayal Upadhyay, the former president of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. This, the party hopes, will send a message that the BJP government was working on the lines of ‘Antyodaya’ ideology of Deendayal.

The party also plans on celebrating Upadhyay’s birth centennary in September and holding the rally in Mathura also sends out a message to the Opposition that the party still enjoys massive support in the West UP region.

PM Modi arrives at Mathura, to address rally soon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at Mathura to address what will be the first rally of a series of celebrations commemorating one year in office of the Narendra Modi government.

At the rally, Modi is expected to announce several welfare schemes as well as list out his government’s achievements. Security at the rally has been beefed-up and at least one person was arrested for threating the attack Modi at the venue.

Modi to launch One Rank One Pension scheme at Mathura rally?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce implementation of the one rank one pension (OROP) scheme concerning ex-servicemen at his rally in Mathura on Monday to mark one year of his government.

Defence ministry sources have said that modalities relating to the long-pending demand of ex-servicemen have been thrashed out.  They said the prime minister could make an announcement about OROP at the rally in Mathura to mark one year of the National Democratic Alliance government.

Interestingly, on Saturday, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi met a section of ex-servicemen and questioned why the Modi government had not yet implemented the scheme despite the UPA government clearing it before their term ended.  

“It’s been a year and it has not yet been implemented. My party will push for it,” Gandhi told reporters after the meeting. 

‘Advani not invited as he is not member of committee’

Amid controversy over LK Advani not being invited to a function in Mathura where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in attendance, the organisers said the BJP patriarch has not been extended an invitation as he has never been a member of its committee.

Chairman of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smarak Samiti Roshan Lal said that the committee has invited few people only who are associated with it.